Running head: DISCOVERING ABORIGINAL DIVERSITY

Discovering Aboriginal Diversity By David Erickson (10066471) February 12, 2014 EDUC 450 Dr. Callaghan

DISCOVERING ABORIGINAL DIVERSITY

Discovering Aboriginal Diversity Canadas Aboriginals have a long history of storytelling. They have an oral culture and oral story telling through song, dance and the spoken word has been used for generations to pass down Aboriginal culture. However, stories have not always been kind to Canadas Aboriginals. Since European colonization began in Canada there have been stories of maltreatment of Aboriginals. Colonialism has resulted in the erection of metaphorical, and in a sense, literal walls being built between Canadian Aboriginals and other Canadians. This is, in part, due to a lack of willingness to hear each others stories. Yet, oral stories have power, and when people actually choose to hear the stories of others, those stories act as a unifier, and work to remove walls from between people. I attended an event called Smoked Fish, Bannock, & Indian Tea: The Power of Storytelling. It featured Aboriginal author and storyteller Richard Wagamese, an Ojibwa author. Wagamese has worked for numerous newspapers, as well as in the radio and television industry. The event was organized by the Mennonite Central Committee. It represents part of their local contribution to Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The two-hour event began with traditional Aboriginal singing and dancing. Wagamese then began telling a story about creation. This story emphasized the fact that all creation was created by one sacred breath from the creator and through that one breath everything came into being together. This belief works against dominant white Canadian culture, which builds walls to separate Aboriginals who do not wish to conform to white, Christian societal norms (Stonebanks and Stonebanks, 2009). However, Wagameses message was one of hope and reconciliation despite the legacy of and ongoing acts of colonization. The appropriation of Aboriginal knowledge, and the

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dismantling of Aboriginal culture and spirituality in order to make Aboriginals more like their white European colonizers are all forms of colonialism to go along with the traditional idea of land acquisition (Smith, 1999). While knowledge of these events may be known to some, it does not figure prominently in popular culture and knowledge (Stanley, 2009). When a person hears with their heart, they are allowing the story to become a part of them and change them. It is through hearing stories that perceptions can be changed. A stereotype according to Wagamese is false evidence appearing real. People allow themselves to believe in stereotypes when they refuse to hear and simply listen. When a person believes in a stereotype, walls are created between one person and another and these walls keep a person from allowing themselves to hear the other persons story, and have it change them. These walls are further built up through the societal act of selective remembering and engineered forgetting (Stanley, 2009). Storytelling, and actually hearing the story breaks down those walls, shifts collective consciousness, and helps to undue the ongoing legacy of colonialism on Canadian Aboriginals (Smith, 1999). Attending this event, allowed me to really hear how prejudice and stereotypes have affected Aboriginals. Theses prejudices still work to marginalize Aboriginals in Canadian society and hearing from an Aboriginal who wasnt angry about these misconceptions, but truly wanted to work to correct them was moving. As a future teacher, it is important to recognize this colonial legacy, work to inform our students of it, and work to end that legacy. One simply place to begin is to recognize the power of storytelling. This works to bring integrity to contemporary representations of Aboriginals. Every student has their own story and by creating a classroom space where students can safely express those stories can, as Richard Wagamese shows, work to create understanding amongst different peoples and show that we are all connected, if only through similar experiences.

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References

Smith, L. (2012). Decolonizing Methodologies Research and Indigenous Peoples. New York: Zed Books. Stanley, T. (2009). The Banality of Colonialism: Encountering Artifacts of Genocide and White Supremacy in Vancouver Today. In Shirley Steinberg (Ed.), Diversity and Multiculturalism A Reader. (pg.131-170). New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Stonebanks, C., and Stonebanks, M. (2009) Religion and Diversity in Our Classrooms. In Shirley Steinberg (Ed.), Diversity and Multiculturalism A Reader. (pg.307-321). New York: Peter Lang Publishing.